Chapter 61: Who Else But Me? (Part 1)

  Zhang Xu Da was born into a humble family and can be said to have risen from the grass roots. His home was in Henan, but that year there was a great flood, he had to leave his hometown and finally joined the army because he had no other way to make a living.

  After entering the army, I lived a life in the barracks. Originally, I was just a small soldier, and this life would probably be like that for the rest of my life. But everything changed because of one person.

  That year, Zhang Xu was almost thirty years old and still a bachelor. Just as his youth was about to pass him by, he met the first noble person in his life.

  He met Shi WanGui, who was just a general at that time and had not yet become the Grand Marshal of the expeditionary force. Although he was only an ordinary general, to Zhang XuDu at that time, this general was already a big official in heaven.

  Zhang Xu Da gained recognition from Shi Wan Sui for some things and began to flourish from then on.

  At that time, someone asked Shi Wansui why he was so dedicated to cultivating Zhang Xudong, a young man who had not yet achieved anything. Shi Wansui's answer was brief, only a few words: "This is a dragon."

  Yang Jian had once praised Shi Wansui, not for his bravery in battle or his martial arts skills, but simply for his ability to recognize people, control people and use people. These nine words earned Shi Wansui the reputation of "慧眼识才" (having a keen eye for talent), which was renowned throughout the imperial court.

  Shi Wansui's ability to identify talent did not disappoint Yang Jian, and he indeed promoted many useful talents for the great Sui dynasty. As a result, people in the military would stop at nothing to get Shi Wansui's praise. At that time, the reputation of Master Shi Wansui was unmatched, even now Master Xu Ling cannot compare with him.

  Some people say that the current master of identifying people, Xu Ling, once studied under Shi Wan Sui for two years, but whether this rumor is true or false cannot be verified, and only he himself knows if it's real or not.

  "This is also a dragon." The four short words expressed many meanings, and the people around him were shocked after hearing them. The meaning of these four words was self-evident, and this Zhang Xu would surely be noble beyond words one day. One day, he encountered a strong wind and soared to the ninth heaven!

  Since then, Zhang Xu had been inseparable from Shi Wansui, and Shi Wansui had taught him everything he knew with all his heart and without reservation. If it could be said that Shi Wansui was hiding something, then it must have been a private intention of his own.

  Flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, and families do not remain noble for a thousand years. No matter how prosperous and powerful a family may be now, what about after a hundred years? What about after a thousand years? Perhaps in just a few short years, they can decline to the point of collapse, and the phrase "family fortunes declining" has already become all too familiar.

  Shi Wansui knew that he was now favored by Yang Jian, because he had value, to the Yang family and even to Yang Jian himself. He would eventually grow old one day, Lian Po could get old too, let alone him?

  If I were to grow old and Yang Jian stepped down, would his successor still think that I have value? The minister's wealth and nobility are bestowed by the emperor, but what if one day the emperor becomes displeased, what should the historian do?

  Shi Wan thought about this issue and had been searching in the army for someone who could keep his family wealthy and noble even after a hundred years.

  It's really hard to find someone like this, who must be brave and wise, with a mind for strategy, stable, able to do great things, and most importantly, someone who is talented but has not been given the opportunity, and has a heart that remembers kindness and seeks to repay it.

  These years Shǐ Wàn Suì has been looking for someone like this, no choice, who let his own son not be up to par, can't inherit his legacy.

  Bo Le traveled a thousand miles to find a famous horse, and Bao Ju let out one neigh to meet a noble person. In this way, Zhang Xu entered the Dharma eye of Shi Wan Sui. Zhang Xu wanted to leave his position, while Shi Wan Sui wanted wealth and nobility for a hundred years. The two can be said to have hit it off immediately, and that's how they met.

  Some men are born for war, just like some women are born for love, same principle.

  Zhang Xu's war talent made Shi Wansui exclaim in surprise, extremely excited, like a piece of gold, like an unpolished jade, under his own polishing and carving, slowly shining brightly, slowly taking shape, slowly attracting attention. Is there anything more exciting than this?

  What soldiers desire most is war! Undoubtedly it is war!

  Famous throughout the world after one battle, enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a prime minister from then on. Therefore, when Shi Wan Gui taught all that he knew to Zhang Ju Dou, he eagerly yearned for a war, having been parched for too long, longing for sweet rain.

  At this time, Yang Jian made a timely rain, and in the thirty-second year of Zhang Shu's life, in February of the 17th year of Sui Kaihuang, Zhang Shu stepped onto his historical stage at such an age, starting his legendary military career.

  Qinzhou Governor, Qiang tribe leader Cuan Yan led a rebellion against the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Yang Jian thought to himself, "This is unbearable! My vast country has spared you from attack, and that's already a great blessing. You're just a tiny ant, yet you dare to rebel? If everyone were like you, wouldn't the world be in constant turmoil?"

  Then he ordered Shi Wansui to go on a punitive expedition and appointed Shi Wansui as the commander-in-chief of the army, although this was not an official position, but the actual power was very heavy. Zhang Xudao followed the commander-in-chief Shi Wansui to advance and attack, and this big rain had fed these two fish that were about to die of thirst.

  The fish in the shallow water meet the sweet dew, and the golden scales swing their tails to tour the rivers and lakes! Under the deliberate arrangement of Shi Wansui, Zhang Xuande made repeated military achievements in this war. After returning to the court, he was granted a ceremonial robe and awarded 300 pieces of material for his meritorious service. From then on, he began to rise to prominence!

  After more than a dozen battles, Zhang's prestige gradually spread throughout the army and his name became known in both court and country. However, this was still not enough to convince people, and he lacked one last push of east wind; with that east wind and the beating of war drums, becoming a marquis or prime minister would be within reach.

  In the fourth year of Renshou, Yang Guang succeeded to the throne. The east wind howled and the war drums sounded. The commander of the Bianzhou province, Han Wang Yang Yan, felt that his safety was hard to guarantee. With a strong army in hand, he rose up in rebellion against his elder brother Yang Guang in Jinyang.

  At this time, Zhang Xiu had already matured. He followed Yang Su, the then military governor of Bianzhou, to quell a rebellion and won fame in one battle. From then on, he also entered Yang Guang's line of sight and was promoted to Duke for his merits.

  Why did Yang Guang single out Zhang Xushe among so many generals?

  The way of the monarch is important in checks and balances, balance is the king's way. Just like now, what is being promoted as a harmonious society is a principle. Yang Jian was able to establish the country for one major reason: he got the support of various powerful families. In this world, there is no such thing as unconditional love, nor is there unconditional cruelty, and even less so unconditional benefits.

  It's unrealistic for a Lin sister to fall from the sky, the major clans had already reached some agreements with Yang Jian before he took over, so after he succeeded and pulled his own grandson off the dragon throne, he fully supported the development of the clans. At that time, his butt on the dragon throne hadn't even warmed up yet, Yang Jian wasn't the kind of person who would die after satisfying his desires.

  The all-green lights along the way made those aristocratic families like the wild grass on the ancient battlefield, thanks to the fertilizer of rotting corpses, and their growth was gratifying. Of course, Yang Jian was not pleased with this, as he was crazy and arrogant, which became the typical style of the aristocratic families, and the young masters of these families were also accustomed to such habits.

  The harm of the door valve Yang Jian and his son had realized early, but it was already late, deeply rooted, they had deeply planted the roots of the survival of the door valve into the deepest part of the imperial heart, shallow to the surface, deep to the blood vessels, everywhere there were their roots, if you want to eradicate them, that would be equivalent to strangling the life of the empire.

  It's already a situation where we rise and fall together, live and die together.

  The ancients said it well: governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, let's take it slow.

  Yang Guang was a clever man, so he wanted to promote a batch of young generals without foundation and background to balance the powerful forces, slowly promoting, slowly cultivating, one day they will rise from the ground, supporting the roof of the empire, and then replacing those old and rotten pillars!

  So Yang Guang is the second noble of General Zhang Xu Da!

  In the seventh year of Daye, in March, Yang Guang issued an order to start recruiting civilians and strong men to join the army. The heavy taxes were also getting heavier, preparing for the expedition against Goguryeo. Zou Ping Wang Bao led a group of peasants, with Changbai Mountain as their base, raised the anti-Sui flag for the first time. Wang Bao called himself "Know-the-World-Lang", claiming to be a man who understood current affairs.

  Zhī Shì Láng created a song called "The Song of Not Dying in the East for Yang Guang", which was spread among the people, calling on them not to go to Liaodong to fight against Goguryeo for Yang Guang and instead take up arms to rebel.

  The people who avoided corvée gathered under Wang Bo's banner, numbering tens of thousands. They often operated within the borders of Qi Commandery and defeated several government troops that tried to suppress them.

  At this time, Zhang Xu Da, who was deeply favored by the emperor, happened to be the governor of Qi County. This means that Zhi Shi Lang was actually active in Zhang Xu Da's territory, and it was only a matter of time before he would have to pay the price for his actions. As for what the price would be, Zhi Shi Lang might have known long ago - after all, he was Zhi Shi Lang, and he could calculate it with his fingers. Of course, he might not have had any idea about the consequences, because Zhi Shi Lang was busy calculating big things, going to calculate big things for the sake of the vast number of suffering people, completely forgetting his own situation.

  Zhang Xu led the army to conquer, Wang Bo led the army south, and the battle turned to Lu County, which is also known as Yanzhou. Like a mourning dog, it's not even comparable to the livestock after the mourning family, because at least the mourning dog won't be chased by someone behind.

  Zhang Xu's pursuit was relentless, and the two sides clashed continuously along the way. Initially, both sides had their share of wins and losses. Later, Taishang Dao intervened and turned the tide in Zhang Xu's favor. Although Zhang Xu suffered several defeats, they were all minor skirmishes that did not affect the overall situation. When they reached the foot of Mount Tai, Wang Bo, relying on his previous victories, underestimated Zhang Xu and thought he was not invincible after all. As a result, he did not set up any defenses. Zhang Xu chose his elite troops, launched a surprise attack, and dealt a crushing blow to the righteous army, beheading several thousand soldiers.

  Those thousands of heads were spectacular, piled up like a small hill, a large black mass, lined up to form a long road. Zhang Xu led the rebel army to show them those heads, and after seeing them, the effect was obvious: on the second day, Zhi Shilang lost several thousand more men, as many kind-hearted civilians surrendered.

  Wang Bo gathered his scattered troops of over 10,000 men and marched north to cross the Yellow River. However, they were pursued by Zhang Xu and defeated again at Linyi. This time, without the interference of Taishang Dao, Zhang Xu easily defeated Wang Bo once more, killing over 5,000 soldiers and capturing countless livestock. It's clear that a small-minded person cannot achieve great things. You can't even escape properly, still worrying about your chickens and ducks, and wanting to bring along those burdens. With this kind of petty mindset, you think you can become an emperor?

  It was coded at 8 o'clock and just sent it up now. All I can say is that the system of horizontal and vertical lines is not very good. This chapter is coded very well, coded very smoothly, and written in one breath. The main thing is to introduce the key characters later on. If you don't like it, I'll try to write less next time. Do you like it? Don't like it? Leave a message!